Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. v. Wilderness Society
- Decided
- May 12, 1975
- Docket
- 73-1977
- Status
- Published
- Jurisdiction
- Federal
Cited 4,586 timesSuperseded by statute (verified)Possible negative treatment: superseded by statute, overruled on other grounds (2 of 19 verified; none is a verified overruling) · Ruth A. Marquart v. Lodge 837, International Association of MacHinists and Aerospace Workers
What later courts said
- holding that each party must bear its own fees unless Congress specifically adopts a rule to the contrary — Ruth A. Marquart v. Lodge 837, International Association of MacHinists and Aerospace Workers (1994)
- holding that, absent a statute or an enforceable contract, litigants in the United States generally bear their own attorney’s fees — James River Petroleum, Inc. v. Dickson (2020)
- recognizing that one of the exceptions to the American Rule allowing such fees is the “willful disobedience of a court order” — Reed v. Reed (1999)
Each line is a later court’s own words about this case, not a summary. Read the opinion before relying on it.
How the opinion begins
[*241] Mb. Justice White delivered the opinion of the Court.
This litigation was initiated by respondents Wilderness Society, Environmental Defense Fund, Inc., and Friends of the Earth in an attempt to prevent the issuance of permits by the Secretary of the Interior which were required for the construction of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline. The Court of Appeals awarded attorneys’ fees to respondents against petitioner Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. based upon the court’s equitable powers and the theory that respondents were entitled to fees because they were performing the services of a “private attorney general.” Certiorari was granted, 419 U. S. 823 (1974), to determine whether this award of attorneys’ fees was appropriate. We reverse.
I
Statutes cited
- 30 U.S.C. § 185
- 42 U.S.C. § 4321
- 28 U.S.C. § 2412
- 28 U.S.C. § 1920
- 35 U.S.C. § 285
- 42 U.S.C. § 2000a-3
- 42 U.S.C. § 1983
- 42 U.S.C. § 2000
- 28 U.S.C. § 1923
- 43 U.S.C. § 1651
And 32 more sections cited in the full opinion.
Cite this
Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. v. Wilderness Society, 421 U.S. 240 (1975)Read the full opinion
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